Mop



Feb. 15,1927.

J. GLOVER MOP Filed Sept. 2, 1925 I Patented Feb. 15, 1927.

tra n stares JOHN GLOVER, or CHICAGO, ILLIiv oIsf e om n-,-

IVIOP.

Application filed September 2, 1925. Serial No. 54,016.

These improvements relate to devices ordinarily known as mops, clusters,cleaners, etc., and, although the appended claims recite mops, it is tobe understood that I contemplate as their full equivalent all suchswabbing or cleaning devices mounted on a handle. The improvements aremore specifically in the connection means between'the handleholder andthe mop body or frame.

It is old to provide a mop body or frame having a handle-holder, withconnection means between the two comprising a yoke on the mop body andan interfitting part on the handle-holder, with bolt means for clampingthe yoke upon the handle-holder whereby the handle-holder may swing intovarious angular relations with the frame.

The user of the mop constantly desires to vary the angular relation ofthe handle to the floor or wall surface for particular purposes, forinstance, to clean under low parts such as sofas, back of radiators;etc; but does not desire the angular relation of the handle to the mopbody to be changing automatically during the cleaning operation. Thebinding action of the bolt in ordinary constructions may be great enoughto hold the handle in any given angular relation, but in such casewithout the desired flex ibility when. the frequent changes in angularrelation are desired to be made. for it is too inconvenient tobecontinually loosening the bolt and tightening it again, and, unlesssuchbolt be made quite tight the mop body will flop about and turn on thepivotal connection and deprive the operator of the command of the devicenecessary for satisfactory use. 7 r

- It has been suggested heretofore to overcome the objections to theordinary construction by means. for holding the handleholdersubstantially locked in various angular relations while yet providingthe desired flexibility at the joint, but such attempts in thisdirection as have come to my notice have various objections both withrespect to operation and cost of manufacture.

' The chief objects of the present improvements are to provide a simple,relatively cheap, strong and durable mop construction having theadvantage of flexibility at the handle and frame connection whileholding the parts together in any suitable angular relation and with theproper degree of locking force, and to rovide a simple, relatively cheapand lnghly advantageous and partsof the left-hand half of Fig. 3.

reliable form of flexible locking, connection suitable for use in alarge variety of mop and duster constructions.

v The mop frame 10 is shown as being 7 formed in substantiallytriangular shape and of thin strip metals The mop frame may have anysuitable form and be of any other suitable construction. The particularconstruction shown is advantageous in its simplicity and low cost andalso in the fact that when the bolt 11 is removed the mop proper 12comprising well known flexible fabric elements and a hollow body partmay be slipped upon the frame 10 and as readily be removed from time totime.

- The free ends 13 of the frame 10 are turned in a common direction andin parallel arrangement and lie spaced apart facing each other andprovide substantially a yoke construction.

The handle-holder 14 is formed of sheet metal and hasforwardly-extending arms 15w terminating in a pair of circular plates 16lying face to face and constituting a part or member which interfitswith the yoke.

The bolt 11 passes through aligning aper-p I turesin the yoke members13' and the plates 16 and I preferably provide lock washers 17 on thebolt as shown to maintain the bolt from working loose. t

On the circular plates 16 constituting a connection member carried bythe'handleholder I provide a plurality of spaced-apart respect to thebolt. As shown in Fig. 4 they are formed by pressing the metal outward,and they provide what is eifectively a recess between the adjacent onesthereof. j

Towardthefree end of the yoke members 13 respectively I form another,projection 21 pressed inward and into the path of arcuate movement ofthe projections 20 and adapted to interfit with the adjacent onesthereof as shown in Fig. 4, whereby a lock is provided for holding thehandle in any one 10G projections 20 in arcuate arrangement with 1merely overcoming the force of a springy' tions 20 may be put into use.

of various angular relations to the mop body or frame. The projection 21being spaced materially from'the bolt, although the connection member 16is held by the bolt very closely in face-to-face arrangement with theyoke member 13 there is sutlicient resiliency in the metal to permit theopposing projections 20 and 21 to spring past each other and provide forslippage between the connection member carried by the body and theconnection member carried by the handle-holder, so that while the lockbetween the parts is substantially positive with respect to all suchstrains tending to move thehandle into another angular relation to themop body and as are encountered in the normal use of the device it isstill possible, by holding the mop body in one hand and the handle inthe other, or by putting a foot upon the mop body on the floor whileholding the handle,

or by pressing the body upon the floor with the handle and then movingthe handle, to

' swing the handle and the handle-holder into desirable to tighten thebolt to such an extent as to produce a typically frictional engagementas distinguished from a merely locked cond tion. In other words, the mopbody will suitably be held in its desired angular relation to the handlewhen the bolt is tightened only enough to bring about an overlapping orinterengagement of the look ing elements, and thus the desired changesfrom time to time may readily be made by detent which slips out of onepocket and into another to lock the parts in other predeterminedrelations.

In the construction illustrated the mop handle can swing from itsposition illus trated in Fig. 1 through one hundred eighty degrees, andthus only half of the projec- I prefer to form such projections throughthree hundred sixty These various an' 7 degrees, however, to simplifythe assemblage of the parts.

I have also shown the projections 20 providing recesses between them onboth of the .discslike parts 16, and a projection 21 on both of the yokemembers 13. The double construction in this respect is advantageoussince it provides abetter lock, prevents a typically frictional contactat one side, facilitates assembling, and provides the same somewhatdecorative effect on both sides of the disc-likeconnection member.

The construction thus illustrated and described is exceedingly simple,is notably cheap to manufacture, and is peculiarly effective to producethe desired locking effect between the parts while permitting the changeof locked relationship 'of parts in notably rapid, simple and easy way.

I contemplate as being included in the invention such variations,changes and departure-s from what is'specifically herein illustrated anddescribed as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

- 1 claim: V

1. Mop construct-ion comprising a mopcarrying fran'ie having a pair ofsubstantially flat free and resilient end portions face to face, ahandle-holder having a pair of substantially flat free end portions faceto face and adapted to have inter-fitting faceto-face relation with saidfree end portions of the frame respectively, the free end portions ofthe'frame and of the handle-holder having opposed interfittingprojections and recesses adapted to interfit-with each other forreleasably locking said end portions to gether, there being alignedopenings through all of said end portions at a place materially spacedfrom said projections and recesses respecti ely, and a bolt or the likeextending through said openings to hold said end por tions for pivotalmovement relative to each other and in locked relation when the opposedprojections and recesses are in inter fitting relation to each other.

2. In mop construction, a looped mop-carrying frame having free,resilient'end portions arranged in spaced opposition, there beingregistering openings in said end p01 tions, a handle holder having aperforated extension arranged between said end portions of the frame,means extending through said end portions and said extension for retaining them in clamped relation, and a plurality of opposed projectionsand recesses formed on said extension and said resilient end portionsadapted to be brought into registratioii for holding the partsyieldingly in given angular relations.

JOHN GLOVER.

